diff --git a/script/release-candidate b/script/release-candidate
index cf2b8b781d..e51ee3a79b 100755
--- a/script/release-candidate
+++ b/script/release-candidate
@@ -27,8 +27,15 @@ const depFields = [
 ]
 
 const getUpdated = (args) => {
-  return execa(lernaBin, ['updated', '--json'])
-    .then(res => JSON.parse(res.stdout))
+  return execa(lernaBin, ['updated', '--json'], { reject: false })
+    .then(res => {
+      if (res.stdout == "") {
+        console.warn("No packages need updating")
+        return []
+      } else {
+        return JSON.parse(res.stdout)
+      }
+    })
     .then(updated => updated.map(pkg => pkg.name))
 }